Panther pride

Friday

WARMINSTER — The William Tennent field hockey team has come close to winning the Suburban One League National Conference title but has always fallen short.

But senior Rachael Mueller believes this could be the year she and her teammates capture the crown.

“I hope so,” said Mueller, a forward. “I think the league is wide open this year and if we work hard and play our best, there’s no reason why we can’t finally win it. I have very high expectations for our team.”

The Panthers graduated some real talent from last year’s team, which finished in fourth place in the SOL National (9-9-1 overall, 7-6-1 in league play) and was eliminated in the first round of the District One Class AAA tournament.

“We lost two very good players in Colleen McCabe and Tori Vallani, but at the same time we have a lot of good players back,” Mueller said. “We have nine seniors this year and that’s a lot. We also have younger players who are starting to become more competitive and that can only help our team.”

Mueller led the team with 12 goals and also had seven assists. She was an SOL National Conference first team choice last year.

“This year I do feel as though I have to take on more of a leadership role,” she said. “I’ve been looking forward to this season. It’s my last one and I want to make it the best I possibly can. I really like the girls on the team and I’m excited for the season.”

She also plays basketball and runs track for Tennent, but is committed to field hockey as her main sport.

That commitment paid off as she will continue her playing career at Temple, where she plans to major in secondary education.

“Temple was my first choice and I didn’t even look at another school,” she said. “I’ve always known that I wanted to go there and once they accepted me and made me an offer, I took it and that was that.

“I didn’t play basketball last year because I wanted to really focus on hockey but now that I’ve gotten my college settled, I’m planning to play basketball again this year. It’ll be my last chance to do that because once I get to college it’s going to be all hockey.”

Tennent coach Kaitlyn Rauchut will rely on Mueller this year.

“Rachael is the all-around athletic player that coaches want,” she said. “Her passion and determination are contagious to the players around her.

“Her outstanding work ethic and tremendous athleticism make her an offensive threat and she’s a coachable individual who is a team player and always leads by example. Rachael is a testament to the fact that hard work and commitment pay off.”

Karen Sangillo, 215-345-3070; email, ksangillo@calkins.com

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